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The Rice Family Kitchen Remodel

When I first met Jim and Daryl 15 years ago, they lived in a beautiful large custom home that Jim designed and built himself in the 80’s. I loved that home. It was a tri level Victorian on a little over an acre with a small horse arena in the backyard and a horse stall with three beautiful horses. You see, Jim Rice owns Forest Construction which has been around since 1949 and opened Showcase Kitchens and Baths in 1987. Needless to say, he understands construction and his wife Daryl is, in my opinion, one of the best interior decorators I have worked with. So their homes are always amazing! But the one complaint Daryl always talked about was that they needed to remodel the kitchen. Fast forward a few years and after I married their one and only daughter, they decided to sell their large home and downsize to a home that had less maintenance and trade the horses for a golf membership. So they arrived to the beautiful Spanish Hills in Camarillo. It was all perfect! Until the existing kitchen started falling apart and things just started to look dated. If there is one thing my mother-in-law and wife are good at, it’s shopping. And when it comes to their clothing and homes, they love things looking new and like changing things out regularly. Luckily they don’t do this with men they love.

When I think of remodeling a space, I usually know exactly what needs to happen to make it stand out. We had to eliminate an angle in the kitchen, move some windows around and find a way to make the view outside, which overlooks beautiful mountains and two golf courses, larger. Simple, right? Luckily, I had one of the most respected and well known contractors in the industry as my client to work out construction details with me. With some projects I start with flooring, tile, or counters; however in this case, I knew the cabinet would be the hardest. I needed to come up with something totally different and unique. Not to mention, come up with something where the wife loves warm Modern styles and the husband loves craftsmanship and a lot of carved details. So I decided to work closely with Bentwood Luxury Kitchens to discuss what I needed. I wanted to do a modern door that would have a texture from a softer wood combined with the Strata technique and use it with a harder oak rail that my daughters wouldn’t damage. They loved the door. It was custom, it was different, and it was high quality.

Now for the final product. Randy Pittard, the owner of Bentwood Luxury Kitchens, and I spent a couple of weeks making six finish samples. The idea was that we wanted to add a leather color to these modern doors. It took us a while, but in the end, we looked at three beautiful samples and picked one that everyone loved. Showcase Designer Melissa Luna, Daryl and I worked closely with Waterworks on a glass tile to help brighten the room and even added a frosted glass front to some of the cabinet doors to brighten things up. Melissa and Daryl worked on coming up with the right color combo. I love dark kitchens that are still bright with vibrant colors. It’s welcoming. The other nice touch is the La Cornue Chateau. This thing is awesome! Daryl and I had planned on a day to go shop for ranges, but I cancelled it. I told Jim that we have a La Cornue Chateau in the Westlake Village Showroom and suggested that we put that in their house.That really got them excited!

In the end, I feel like this is one of the best representations of what our team can produce. There are hundreds of details that would take too many characters to fit in the blog post! To see the entire finished product, visit The Rice Family Gallery on our blog! We didn’t overlook one detail and the client gave us some freedom to truly create something unique. From the countertop details, to a seating area for my daughters, to the custom hood, to the powder room wall finish, to the built in under the stairs that has custom drawers to house heavy luggage AND that showcases his Academy of Country Music Award, we made sure to try and cover everything. The only thing I’m upset about is that it’s finished! I truly enjoy challenges and love seeing how our team helps in creating a beautiful home. Luckily, I get to eat and cook in this kitchen whenever I want. My turn next!